Marbled murrelet • Brachyramphus marmoratus

Marbled murrelet, photo by Joel White.

Breeding Marbled Murrelets near the Koeye River estuary. Photo by Chanda Brietzke.

IdentificationThe marbled murrelet has a fairly distinctive body shape and is quite small, with a short tail that flicks upwards and a short, pointed black bill usually held with a slight upward tilt. Breeding adults are dark brown all over, with white mottling underneath. Juveniles and adults in winter plumage have a black back, wings, and head. Both have white scapulars (feathers where the wings join the body), as well as white undersides and chins. The white undersides are pure white on adults and lightly speckled on juveniles.

Habitat & RangeThis species is found in ocean waters along the Central Coast of BC year-round, and in old-growth forest adjacent to these waters in the summer breeding months. In winter it is usually too far out at sea to be spotted from shore. Its range extends from the Aleutian Islands south to California.

Find more information at the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas here.

Similar SpeciesThe Kittlitz's murrelet (Braphyramphus brevirostris) is fairly similar to the marbled murrelet, however it does not generally range further south than Alaska. The ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus), particularly an immature individual, may be confused with a juvenile or winter adult marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) - both have similarly dark faces, heads, backs, and wings contrasting with light undersides. The marbled murrelet can be differentiated by a white collar which separates the dark crown and back, by a white scapular patch (more pronounced in the winter adult than the juvenile), and by a shorter dark bill. Winter and breeding adult ancient murrelets also have a pronounced dark throat, while the marbled murrelet has a white throat.

Human ImpactsThe marbled murrelet is classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). This designation comes largely from the species' dependence on old-growth forests in BC (and south of the border in Washington State) for nesting habitat, which is being logged much more quickly than it can regenerate. An estimated 20% of marbled murrelet nesting habitat has been lost over the last three generations. While the species is still abundant, researchers believe the population has dropped dramatically, and habitat loss and fragmentation is ongoing.